Monday, June 25, 2012

Because sometimes movies are blah or boring or bad, the wise film-watcher has at their disposal a stash of spirit-lifters and faith-restorers. Totally Fimi and I are hosting a week of "palate cleansers," starting today, and we invite one and all to join us in writing about and otherwise sharing movies (and bits thereof) that make us feel better.

Follow the conversation on twitter with the hashtag #PalateCleanser. I hope to put up a new post every day.

I'm starting off with a handful of songs because they're the simplest, most discrete unit of fillums I could think of.

"Meri Jane Jana (Oh Baby Don't Break My Heart)" from Mohabbat
So sunny and floral! Such cute smiling faces! Such dorky, endearing choreography! And if Akshaye Khanna can keep up with Madhuri Dixit as well as this, then surely there is hope for us all.

"Good Morning India" from Khushi

Palate-cleansing is not necessarily the same thing as happy-making, but my personal list sees significant overlap of those traits.

What I find so restorative about this picturization (not the music itself, really) is that somehow, somewhere, somebody pitched the idea of a song with Fardeen-Khan-based hero-worship-type shenanigans, including cheerleaders, breakfast foods, motorcycles, and Kolkata public transit, and they were allowed to go ahead with it and it worked really well for at least one viewer (i.e. me). Again, if somehow all of this did not end up a hot steaming dead mess under the wheels of a tram, then surely you and I can solve whatever is troubling us—and, more to the point, there is hope for cinematic endeavors everywhere.

"Tumse Milke Dilka Jo Haal" from Main Hoon Na
I try very hard not to think bad things about people who don't like what I like, but I'm willing to go out on a limb with this one and declare that if it does not tickle any part of your fancy at least a little bit, you might be a robot.

This song makes me proud to be a human. It is colorful, joyful, thoughtful, clever, and interesting. It is harmonious in many ways and on many spectra: within the music, within the visuals, within the choreography, and among them all. Creating something like this is proof of what people can do when we try. Like that! Wicked!

"Kehne Ki Nahin Baat" from Pyaar Kiye Jaa (aka The One You Knew Was Coming)
WHEE and SQUEE and WHOOPEEEEEE! I wrote a full post on this song back in 2008 if you need more tempting in words.

Very cute! And I thought I was the only one who liked Akshaye and Madhuri together in Mohabbat...now that made my day. He was so cute in that one.

One of my favorite out of context songs that always cheers me up is Shah Rukh and Juhi doing Suniye To from Yes, Boss. SRK is really channeling his inner Jerry Lewis here, especially in that sideways sliding move he does in the big white suit. Don't know if I love-love the movie, but this number will always give me the giggles when he tosses himself headlong into the sand on the beach. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxcDACLW72I

my other filmi projects

Bong Along - a blog on vintage Bengali movies co-written by Indie Quill and me (and perhaps a few very friendly appearances by other friends as well).

Masala Zindabad - the podcast by Indie Quill and me, often featuring other writers and fans as guests. Masala Zindabad is an affectionate and thoughtful look at the broad range of themes that define Bollywood and make Bollywood defy definition. Available at iTunes.

Mysterious Order of the Skeleton Suit - the Agents of M.O.S.S. are a shadowy confederation of like-minded writers, broadcasters, creators, and jetsetters who have banded together in a bold mission to bring international intrigue and pop entertainment to the masses. Can anyone stand in the way of their diabolical schemes?

pragmatics

Text (c) 2005–2015, Beth Watkins. The ideas and opinions expressed in this site are mine alone unless otherwise attributed. They do not necessarily represent the views of my employer or of any other organization or website with which I may be associated.